In the prior art, document U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,680 is already known that describes a refillable dispenser comprising a fluid reservoir provided with a filler valve, and a pump that can be actuated by means of a pusher. When the pump has extracted the entire content of the reservoir, said reservoir is empty. That document does not make it clear whether the pump is an atmospheric pump (having air intake) or an airless pump (without air intake). Thus, when the reservoir is empty, it is either full of air if the pump is atmospheric, or it is subjected to suction (empty of air) if the pump is an airless pump. When the pump is an atmospheric pump, a source bottle provided with a pump is pressed against the filler valve in such a manner as to actuate the pump of the source bottle. Such actuation is repeated until the reservoir of the refillable dispenser is full.
In the prior art, document FR 2 854 131 is also known that describes a refillable dispenser comprising a reservoir and an airless pump. When all the fluid has been extracted from the reservoir by the airless pump, suction exists inside the reservoir. By connecting a source bottle to the reservoir through the airless pump, the suction in the reservoir sucks in the fluid contained in the source bottle. In other words, the suction in the reservoir serves as means for sucking through the airless pump, which pump has an outlet valve that acts as a filler valve.
Document EP 2 441 344 is also known that describes a refillable dispenser of the same type as the above-mentioned document U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,680, comprising an airless pump and a reservoir provided with a filler valve. The suction that exists inside the reservoir once empty is advantageously used to suck in fluid from a source bottle and through the filler valve.
Document EP 2 335 833 describes another type of refillable dispenser having a reservoir of volume that varies that is in the form of a bellows that is biased by a spring in such a manner as to create suction in the reservoir when it is empty. The suction is once again advantageously used to suck in fluid from a source bottle and through a filler valve. Document FR 2 959 729 also describes a refillable dispenser that operates on a similar principle.
As described above, two distinct types of refillable dispenser exist, namely a refillable dispenser having a reservoir that is at atmospheric pressure when it is empty, and a refillable dispenser having a reservoir that is under suction when it is empty. For a reservoir under suction, suction always results from extracting fluid by means of an airless pump, whether the reservoir is rigid or flexible. A recurring problem associated with the reservoir under suction resides in the fact that the suction in the reservoir tends to decrease or to disappear when the dispenser is not used for a certain period of time. In order to mitigate that problem, it is necessary to actuate the airless pump before proceeding with filling its reservoir, in order to recreate suction.